National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996)Chapter I : Interpretation of Act1. Definitions |
In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates—
means a motor vehicle specially constructed or adapted for the conveyance of sick or injured persons to or from a place for medical treatment and which is registered as an ambulance;
means a combination of motor vehicles consisting of a truck-tractor and a semi-trailer;
means an inspector of licences, an examiner of vehicles, an examiner for driving Iicences, a traffic warden or a traffic officer, and also any other person declared by the Minister by regulation to be an authorised officer;
means a motor vehicle designed or adapted solely for the purpose of recovering or salvaging motor vehicles and which is registered as a breakdown vehicle;
includes a culvert and a causeway;
means any person who manufactures or assembles motor vehicles in whole or in part from used components, or modifies motor vehicles using new or used components;
means a motor vehicle designed or adapted for the conveyance of more than 16 persons (including the driver, if any);
means a by-law issued under the laws of a province;
in relation to a motor vehicle, means certification of roadworthiness in terms of section 42;
means the chief executive officer of the Corporation appointed in terms of section 15 of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, 1999 (Act No.20 of 1999);
means two or more motor vehicles coupled together;
means the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic (Paris, 1926), the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic (Geneva, 1949), or the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic (Vienna, 1968);
means the Road Traffic Management Corporation established by section 3 of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act,
or any like expression, means to move on a public road in a direction which intersects the normal course of travel of traffic on such road;
means the commodities, substances and goods listed in the standard specification of the South African Bureau of Standards SABS 0228 "The identification and classification of dangerous substances and goods;
means the Department of Transport;
means a department as defined in section 1(1) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation No.1994);
means the Director-General:Transport
means any person who drives or attempts to drive any vehicle or who rides or attempts to ride any pedal cycle or who leads any draught, pack or saddle animal or herd or flock of animals, and "drive" or any like word has a corresponding meaning;
means a driving licence referred to in Chapter IV;
means a driving licence testing centre referred to in Chapter IV;
means the boundary between the roadway and the shoulder, which is indicated by an appropriate road traffic sign, or in the absence of such sign—
| a) | in the case of a road with a bituminous or concrete surface, the edge of such surface; or |
| b) | in the case of any other road, the edge of the improved part of the road intended for vehicular use; |
means an examiner for driving licences appointed and registered in terms of sections 3A and 3C, respectively;
means an examiner of vehicles appointed and registered in terms of sections 3A and 3C, respectively;
means a motor vehicle designed or adapted solely or mainly for fighting fires and which is registered as a fire-fighting vehicle;
means a public road or a section of a public road which has been designated as a freeway by an appropriate road traffic sign;
means any movable property;
in relation to a motor vehicle which is used to draw any other motor vehicle, means the maximum mass of any combination of motor vehicles, including the drawing vehicle, and load as specified by the manufacturer thereof or, in the absence of such specification, as determined by the registering authority;
in relation to a motor vehicle, means the maximum mass of such vehicle and its load as specified by the manufacturer thereof or, in the absence of such specification, as determined by the registering authority;
means a motor vehicle, designed or adapted mainly for drawing other vehicles, and with a gross combination mass exceeding 24 000kg, but does not include a truck-tractor or tractor.
means an identity document as defined in section 1 of the Identification Act, 1986 (Act No.72 of 1986);
means any person who imports new or used motor vehicles into the Republic;
means an inspector of licences appointed and registered in terms of [the laws of any province] sections 3A and 3C, respectively;
means any person who for direct reward—
| a) | instructs any other person in the driving of a motor vehicle; |
| b) | teaches any other person the rules of the road or road traffic signs in order to obtain a learner’s or a driver’s licence; |
means an international driving permit issued in terms of a Convention or recognised thereunder;
means the boundary between the shoulder and the verge or, in the absence of a shoulder, the part between the edge of the roadway and the verge;
means a learner's licence referred to in Chapter IV;
means a transitional metropolitan substructure, transitional local council or local government body contemplated in section 1(1) of the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act No.209 of 1993);
means a person who manufactures or assembles new motor vehicles;
means a person who, for the purpose of selling number plates, manufactures number plates;
means a member of the Executive Council appointed in terms of section 132 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996), and who is responsible for road traffic matters, or any other person authorised by him or her to exercise any power or perform any duty or function which such MEC is empowered or obliged to exercise or perform in terms of this Act;
means any person registered as such in terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No.56 of 1974);
means the Minister of Transport, or any other person authorised by him or her to exercise any power or perform any duty or function which such Minister is empowered or obliged to exercise or perform in terms of this Act;
means a motor vehicle which has two wheels and includes any such vehicle having a side-car attached;
means any person who is engaged in the business of buying, selling, exchanging or repairing motor vehicles required to be registered and licensed in terms of this Act or of building permanent structures onto such vehicles and who complies with the prescribed conditions;
means a motor vehicle, other than a tractor, which has four wheels and which is designed to be driven by the type of controls usually fitted to a motor cycle;
means a motor vehicle, other than a motor cycle or a tractor, which has three wheels and which is designed to be driven by the type of controls usually fitted to a motor cycle;
means any self-propelled vehicle and includes –
| a) | a trailer; and |
| b) | a vehicle having pedals and an engine or an electric motor as an integral part thereof or attached thereto and which is designed or adapted to be propelled by means of such pedals, engine or motor, or both such pedals and engine or motor, but does not include – |
| i) | any vehicle propelled by electrical power derived from storage batteries and which is controlled by a pedestrian; or |
| ii) | any vehicle with a mass not exceeding 230 kilograms and specially designed and constructed, and not merely adapted, for the use of any person suffering from some physical defect or disability and used solely by such person; |
means a prescribed plate on which the licence number of a motor vehicle or motor trade number is displayed;
or any like expression, in relation to a vehicle, means to use or drive a vehicle or to permit a vehicle to be used or driven on a public road, or to have or to permit a vehicle to be on a public road;
means the person responsible for the use of a motor vehicle of any class contemplated in Chapter VI, and who has been registered as the operator of such vehicle;
in relation to a vehicle, means—
| a) | the person who has the right to the use and enjoyment of a vehicle in terms of the common law or a contractual agreement with the title holder of such vehicle; |
| b) | any person referred to in paragraph (a), for any period during which such person has failed to return that vehicle to the title holder in accordance with the contractual agreement referred to in paragraph (a); or |
| c) | a motor dealer who is in possession of a vehicle for the purpose of sale, and who is licenced as such or obliged to be licenced in accordance with the regulations under section 4, and "owned" or any like word has a corresponding meaning; |
means to keep a vehicle, whether occupied or not, stationary for a period of time longer than is reasonably necessary for the actual loading or unloading of persons or goods, but does not include any such keeping of a vehicle by reason of a cause beyond the control of the person in charge of such vehicle;
means a traffic officer and also a traffic warden appointed in terms of section 3A;
means any bicycle or tricycle designed for propulsion solely by means of human power;
means prescribe by regulation;
means—
| a) | the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Swaziland, the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Botswana, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of Zambia and the Republic of Zimbabwe; and |
| b) | any other state or territory declared by the Minister by notice in the Gazette to be a prescribed territory; |
means the driver of a motor vehicle [in respect of which an operator is registered] referred to in section 32;
means a professional driving permit referred to in Chapter IV;
means a province referred to in section 103 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996;
means any road, street or thoroughfare or any other place (whether a thoroughfare or not) which is commonly used by the public or any section thereof or to which the public or any section thereof has a right of access, and includes—
| a) | the verge of any such road, street or thoroughfare, |
| b) | any bridge, ferry or drift traversed by any such road, street or thoroughfare; and |
| c) | any other work or object forming part of or connected with or belonging to such road, street or thoroughfare; |
means a registering authority appointed as such in accordance with section 3;
[deleted by the National Road Traffic Amendment Act, 1998]
means a regulation under this Act;
means an ordinance or any provision of an ordinance repealed by the Road Traffic Act, 1989 (Act No.29 of 1989);
means a motor vehicle designed or adapted solely for the purpose of rescuing persons, and which is owned or controlled by a department of State, a local authority or a body approved by the MEC concerned and is registered as a rescue vehicle;
means a person who complies with the requirements of section 3D and is registered as a traffic officer in terms of section 3C or any person who is a peace officer in terms of section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), and has been appointed as a reserve traffic officer by the chief executive officer or the MEC, as the case may be, on a temporary basis for a specific period;
means a person who has been declared a peace officer by the Minister of Justice in terms of section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), and has been appointed as a reserve traffic warden by the chief executive officer or the MEC, as the case may be, on a temporary basis for a specific period;
means the Road Traffic Ordinance, 1966 (Ordinance No. 21 of 1966), of the former Transvaal, Natal, the Orange Free State and the Cape of Good Hope, respectively;
means a road traffic sign prescribed under section 56;
means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare improved, constructed or intended for vehicular traffic which is between the edges of the roadway;
in relation to a vehicle, means a vehicle which complies with the relevant provisions of this Act and is otherwise in a fit condition to be operated on a public road;
in relation to a motor vehicle, means a certificate issued in terms of section 42;
means a trailer having no front axle and so designed that at least 15 per cent of its tare is super-imposed on and borne by a vehicle drawing such trailer;
means the Shareholders Committee established by section 6 of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act,
means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare between the edge of the roadway and the kerb line;
means that portion of a verge intended for the exclusive use of pedestrians;
means the South African Bureau of Standards referred to in section 2(1) of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No.29 of 1993);
means the bringing to a standstill of a vehicle by the driver thereof;
in relation to a motor vehicle, means the mass of such vehicle ready to travel on a road and includes the mass of—
| a) | any spare wheel and of all other accessories and equipment supplied by the manufacturer as standard for the particular model of motor vehicle concerned, |
| b) | anything which is a permanent part of the structure of such vehicle; |
| c) | anything attached to such vehicle so as to form a structural alteration of a permanent nature; and |
| d) | the accumulators, if such vehicle is self-propelled by electrical power, but does not include the mass of – |
| i) | fuel; and |
| ii) | anything attached to such vehicle which is not of the nature referred to in paragraph (b) or (c); |
means a testing station registered in terms of section 39;
includes the regulations;
in relation to a vehicle, means—
| a) | the person who has to give permission for the alienation of that vehicle in terms of a contractual agreement with the owner of such vehicle; or |
| b) | the person who has the right to alienate that vehicle in terms of the common law, and who is registered as such in accordance with the regulations under section 4; |
means a motor vehicle designed or adapted mainly for drawing other vehicles and with a gross combination mass not exceeding 24 000kg, but does not include a truck-tractor;
means a traffic officer appointed in terms of section 3A, and any member of the Service, and any member of a municipal police service, both as defined in section 1 of the South African Police Service Act, 1995 (Act No. 68 of 1995), and for the purposes of Chapters V, IX and X and sections 74 and 78 of this Act, includes a peace officer;
means a person who has been declared by the Minister of Justice to be a peace officer in terms of section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), and has been appointed as a traffic warden by the chief executive officer, the MEC or another competent authority to appoint a traffic warden, as the case may be;
means a vehicle which is not self-propelled and which is designed or adapted to be drawn by a motor vehicle, but does not include a side-car attached to a motor cycle;
means the company floated and incorporated in terms of section 2 of the Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services Act, 1989 (Act No.9 of 1989);
means a motor vehicle designed or adapted—
| a) | for drawing other vehicles; and |
| b) | not to carry any load other than that imposed by a semi-trailer or by ballast, but does not include a tractor or a haulage tractor; |
means that portion of the area of jurisdiction of a local authority which has by actual survey been subdivided into erven or is surrounded by surveyed erven, and includes the public roads abutting thereon;
means a device designed or adapted mainly to travel on wheels or crawler tracks and includes such a device which is connected with a draw-bar to a breakdown vehicle and is used as part of the towing equipment of a breakdown vehicle to support any axle or all the axles of a motor vehicle which is being salvaged other than such a device which moves solely on rails; and
means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare, including the sidewalk, which is not the roadway or the shoulder.